Northern NY man punished for contraband cigarette sales

Northern NY man punished for contraband cigarette sales

Northern NY man punished for contraband cigarette sales

Aug. 11, 2018

https://www.apnews.com/74a8834b3b62420b842bd08190f1bf5d

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — A 48-year-old northern New York man has been sentenced to prison and ordered to pay more than $3 million for failing to maintain required records regarding the manufacture and sale of cigarettes.

Jeffrey Lazare of Hogansburg pleaded guilty in February. He admitted that four years ago he shipped, sold, and distributed quantities of cigarettes in excess of 10,000 in single transactions in Franklin County and failed to maintain required records to avoid the federal excise tax. He will serve one year and one day in prison.

Federal prosecutors said Lazare's business, Braves Manufacturing and Braves Packaging, generated proceeds of at least $3.5 million from his unlicensed cigarette manufacturing operation.

The forfeiture figure of $3.5 million announced Thursday included over $950,000 seized from Lazare's bank account in 2013.